Bull Valley Roadhouse seems like a restaurant that has been hermetically sealed in the past, in a town that many people don't even know exists: Port Costa.

It's about 3 miles off the exit on Interstate 80, south of the Carquinez Bridge in Contra Costa County. Driving on the winding, hilly road, especially at night, feels like another world. The town, with a population of 190, is at the end of a bumpy street that probably hasn't seen new asphalt since the 1970s; if you drive too far, you'll end up in the Carquinez Strait.

The entrance of Bull Valley Roadhouse is marked by a golden ox that hangs over the door; once inside, diners enter a bar and lounge filled with Victorian furniture. One wall is papered with daguerreotype portraits of men and women from the 1800s. The fixtures that hang from the ceiling have been converted from gaslights; dark paneling goes three-quarters of the way up the walls.

Getting the restaurant to this stage took a lot of elbow grease on the part of owners Earl Flewellen and Samuel Spurrier, who took over the Bull Valley Restaurant last year. They are also working to restore the Burlington Hotel next door, and filling it with Victorian furniture much like you'll see in the restaurant.

They are meticulous about honoring the past. Spurrier even looks the part, with his beard, rimless glasses and oversize blue denim apron, which are also worn by the servers.

Soon after diners are seated, waiters bring steaming towels for a before-dinner wash-up. When Spurrier delivers the slow-roasted pork stew ($26) with tomatillo and guajillo, he points out the wedge of lime on top, explaining that in the late 1800s when Port Costa was the world's largest wheat-shipping port, the sailors who landed there needed citrus to help prevent scurvy.

Family style

The food produced by co-owner David Williams, who used to work at the Slanted Door, is homey American, served family style. Through the leisurely meal, details continue to unfold: Period music plays over the sound system, and jars of honey and bottles of liquor line the back wall of the bar, where the bartender hand-cuts ice cubes for pre-Prohibition cocktails. Erik Adkins, also from the Slanted Door, created the list, selecting combinations popular before the 1920s.

Even the presentations of the family-style dishes seem to mimic what one might imagine a boardinghouse might have served. A heaping bowl of PEI mussels ($15) in a deeply flavored sauce fortified with white wine and shallots is crowned with a haystack of thick fries so crisp you'd swear they were fried three times, and a creamy aioli so infused with garlic it stings the back of the throat. It's a magical blend that wakes up the palate.

Salads, appetizers

The wedge salad ($9) is two quarters of an iceberg head doused in Point Reyes blue cheese dressing with lardons and chives. Pristine local ingredients shine in a salad of radicchio, field greens, Anjou pears, roasted walnuts, Gorgonzola and sherry vinaigrette ($10).

Most of the six other appetizers are hearty, including fried chicken wings ($11) in a pool of blue cheese dressing; dry-rubbed St. Louis-style pork ribs ($14) that fall from the bone if you look at them cross-eyed; and green beans with chile salt ($8) that are perfect with one of the cocktails, maybe the Bee's Knees ($10) with gin, lemon and wildflower honey.

Main courses

The six main courses include a 1 1/4-pound branzino ($34) wrapped in parchment, roasted and served on a platter with lemon slices, Israeli couscous and braised fennel with a cucumber and habanero yogurt; it easily serves two.

Waiters let diners know that not every person needs to order both an appetizer and a main course because the portions are generous. Yet it's hard to resist because everything is so good.

Buttermilk fried chicken ($27) brings three pieces, heavily breaded and propped on a mass of mashed potatoes with white country sausage gravy. I loved the chicken and the gravy, but the potatoes were a little lumpy and gluey, one of the few things that didn't satisfy.

If you like steak, the grilled flat iron ($29) is smoky with sweet undercurrents from roasted shallots and shiitake and hon-shimeji mushrooms. On another visit, it was replaced by an equally good sliced rib eye ($34) with crisp roasted potatoes and mushrooms.

For vegetables and side dishes, don't pass up the whole fried Brussels sprouts ($7) with sea salt; macaroni and cheese ($8) with cream, Gruyere and parmesan; or kale ($7) sauteed with chunks of shallots and a touch of chile for added interest.

A sweet finish

Flewellen is also a beekeeper, and his wildflower honey is featured in a pound cake ($7) and a velvet-textured ice cream ($5) with just a hint of honey sweetness. It's so good it reminded me of when George Morrone used to churn ice cream to order at Fifth Floor.

Spurrier suggested we order it with the shortbread cookies ($2), on one visit made with walnuts, on another with pecans and anise. And he even told us how he eats them - smear the ice cream on the square cookie and continue to eat until it's gone.

Spurrier said that when he and Flewellen took over the space, they kept the name Bull Valley but added Roadhouse because "a roadhouse features food, alcohol, dancing and gambling."

"You don't have the gambling and dancing," I replied.

"We're working on it," he said.

With the partners' charming restoration and pioneering spirit, it just might happen.

The wine list

There's nothing wrong with the 25 wines on the list at Bull Valley Roadhouse, but on my visits I was more captivated by the cocktails ($10).

They all are pre-Prohibition blends, and they make me long for that time. The bartender hand-cuts the ice cubes for some of the drinks, which are well-crafted and balanced.

Brown spirits rule in combinations like the Whiskey Cocktail with bourbon, Angostura and orange bitters, gum syrup and a hand-cut ice cube; and the Four Regiment with rye, sweet vermouth, orange liquor and Angostura, orange and celery bitters.

Most of the wines are from outside California, with choices such as the 2011 Le Fraghe Bardolino "Rodon Rose" ($98/$32) with Corvina and Rondinella; 2011 Cowhorn Spiral 36 ($57) with Marsanne, Roussanne and Viognier; 2009 Hofer Zweigelt ($45 liter), a refreshing unoaked red; and 2009 Kathryn Kennedy Small Lot Cabernet Sauvignon ($67).

Eight still wines and two sparkling are offered by the glass, along with three dessert wines such as the 2006 Quinta de la Rosa Port ($9).